Tube-welding machine.



No. 798,940. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. J. S. WORTH.

TUBE WELDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED B31119, 1904:.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

6% M Join/ WWZ/Z No. 798,940. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905.

J. S. WORTH.

TUBE WELDING MACHINE.

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 20.19.1904.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. WORTH, OF UOXIESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO IIIM- SELF ANI) WILLIAM P. WORTII, OF UOATESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

TUBE-WELDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1905.

To rtZZ 117mm it 'HMLZ/ concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN S. \Voirrn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coatesville, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in 'Iube\\"elding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to weld a laptube so that the metal of the tube will be of practically even thickness throughout, making the inner and outer surfaces of the tube more cylindrical in cross-section than heretofore.

The great difficulty in rolling lap-welded tubes has been that the metal at the lap, owing to the overlapping of the edges of the blank, makes this portion of the tube much thicker than that at the opposite side, and if pressure was applied sufficiently to reduce the metal at the weld to the proper thickness it would also reduce the metal of the tube diametrically opposite to the lap, making it very much thinner than the original thickness of the tube.

By my improved apparatus I am enabled to roll a tube having a practically even diameter throughout.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view showing a two-high rolling-mill, illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 3 is a view of a fiat blank for a welded tube. Fig. i is a view showing the tube lapped prior to welding. Fig. 5 is a view of the finished tube, and Fig. 6 is a diagram view of a modification of my invention.

\Vhile I have illustrated a particular form of mill in the drawings, I do not limit myself to this precise construction.

A represents the housings.

B is the lower roll, and I) is the upper roll. Each of these rolls is grooved and of a size to lit the tube of a given diameter. The rolls are connected with a stand C of gearing, (illustrated in Fig. 1,) and the gear-wheel and the pinion 1/ are so proportioned that the surface speed of the two rolls will be practically the same. The gears are connected to their rethe usual guides ff are also used.

ing between the rolls is the forming-ball i, supported by a rod f.

It will be noticed that the upper roll is much smaller than the lower roll, so that the bearing-surface of the lower roll on the tube is much greater than the bearing-surface of the small upper roll. Consequently when the tube is passed between the rolls and over the ball I the large roll, having a greater surface, will give a greater surface to that portion of the tube in contact with it than the small roll, and as the tube is passed between the rolls with the lap uppermost the lap will be pressed between the small roll and the ball, while the opposite surface of the tube will be between the ball and the large roll, so that as there is less bearing surface against the lap than against the opposite surface of the tube it will have a tendency to reduce the lap to a gr ater degree than the opposite surface of the tube, and consequently the tube will be rolled more symmetrically than heretofore.

In some instances, as shown in the modification, Fig. 6, my improved rolls may be used as reducing or sizing rolls to follow after the welding-rolls M M, so that the weld is made in the ordinary method, and the tube is afterward reduced to symmetrical thickness by my improved rolls, or the tube may be welded by my improved rolls with a partial evening of the thickness and afterward passed between other rolls of the same kind to complete the operation.

I claim as my invention- The combination in a rolling-mill for rolling lap-welded tubes, of two rolls one less in diameter than the other, a ball over which the tube is formed and means for driving the two rolls at or about the same surface speed, so that a lapped-tube blank fed to the rolls with the lap in contact with the small roll willbe properly reduced, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofl have signed my name to this speci lication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOI-IN S. VORTH. \Vitnesscs:

\VILL. A. BARR, Jos. II. KLEIN. 

